Chris Mccandless Individualism

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Pioneer of the Transcendentalist movement, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” In Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, Chris McCandless is proven to be an individualist. An individualist is someone who asserts one’s own distinct entity by his independence of thoughts and action. McCandless demonstrates himself to be a true individualist because no matter how many people object to his Transcendentalist theories or his main goal of living off the land in the Alaskan wilderness, he remains confident and determined in fulfilling his dreams. Although he may seem at times to conform to society's norms, he ultimately returns to his own unique path, …show more content…
McCandless was not always disapproving of his parents and their materialistic way of living. Although he “did not mesh readily with modern existence” (Author’s Note), “many aspects of Chris’s personality baffled his parents” (120). He was neither an average, middle class working man, nor an impersonal wanderer or “tramp.” While McCandless is known for his “great trek” into the wild, leaving behind materialistic and monetary possessions, he did “work for his parents’ company” (119). McCandless was developing computer software for the company and the program he created was “flawless” (120). McCandless had natural talent in everything he did, he got good grades, attended a prestigious, well-known college, didn’t get into trouble and “did what he was supposed to” (114). He had a car, was athletic, “had friends” (107), and received a high school diploma. McCandless did desire the transcendentalist way of living, but he also had talent in modern society and would have been successful in the modern day workforce, a workforce in which he shifted in and out of. He either was in the workforce, or living off the land by himself somewhere. Along with his parents’ company, he also worked for “Domino’s” (120) delivering pizzas. This is a typical job young adults take in college to get some extra cash. Chris was conforming to …show more content…
Although he had friends, Chris was very “introverted” (120). He enjoyed going off by himself and taking long, adventurous trips to places most college kids would not be expected to go on their summer breaks. McCandless also “had trouble with the whole idea of parents” (115). Parents, to McCandless, represented conformity and being submissive to how others want him to live. The idea of set rules to follow bothered him; people lived with the petty worries over small details. McCandless dreamed beyond trivial gossip and worries and saw life in its entirety, not through a microscope. Living in the upper- middle class suburbs of Virginia, McCandless almost felt guilty living with such luxuries that were not even necessary to begin with; he really “didn’t understand how people could possibly be allowed to go hungry” (113). He wanted to understand the world, and experience different ways of life, but he believed that you “can’t understand it until you live it” (114). McCandless stressed the idea of applying knowledge to real life. It is not beneficial to learn things if you cannot experience them as well. So instead of going to his typical high school “keggers” (113), he would go to Georgetown and talk with the homeless people and prostitutes living in the streets. He wanted to understand their lives first hand, not from the Internet or in a classroom. McCandless knew there was more to life than
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